36 FRESH- W 'A TER AQUA RIA 



CHAPTER. IV. 



CONSTRUCTION OF FRESH-WATER AQUARIA. 



THE construction of a moderate sized, portable fresh- 

 water aquarium may be as cheap or as expensive a 

 matter as a person thinks fit, or his pocket can afford. 

 They can usually be purchased at the natural history 

 dealers' shops in London and elsewhere ; but perhaps 

 one learns more of the conditions under which the 

 animals we propose to keep will hereafter live, if we 

 have the aquaria constructed under our own super- 

 intendence. Having fully taken into consideration 

 the principles which ought to guide us in maintaining 

 aquatic animals and plants, the next thing is to be 

 sure the aquarium will not leak ; and that it contains 

 nothing in the materials composing it which are at all 

 likely to be poisonous. Under the direction of a car- 

 penter or plumber, any of the aquaria of which we give 

 illustrations may be constructed. One of the cheapest, 

 perhaps, is that shown in Fig. 2, and, by a little alter- 

 ation in the internal details of rockwork, &c., it may 

 be used for marine or fresh-water objects as the owner 

 thinks fit. The back and sides are composed of strong, 

 half-inch wood, dovetailed together. The bottom is 

 thicker, and is screwed to the framework. The front 



